WASHINGTON -- The first sign came that something was up at the White House was
when reporters sitting inside the briefing room heard the whup-whup-whup of Marine
One's rotor blades outside.

The reporters were listening last Friday to Press Secretary Mike McCurry tell them
how the president's personal attorney and Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr had
become so lovey-dovey that they were figuring out ways for Clinton to "provide
information" to the grand jury investigating him.

But when

Time to get off your high-horse, Bubba.

the reporters heard the helicopter blades, they knew something strange was
going on: Reporters are almost always escorted outside when Clinton is leaving the
White House so they can shout questions to him as he climbs on board.

This day, however, the White House wanted no shouted questions. This day, the White
House was busy throwing up a smokescreen to disguise the fact that the president of
the United States had been served a subpoena.

And this day, Bill Clinton learned the downside of being a man of the people: The
people expect you to stay that way.

Clinton's job approval rating has remained high even in the face of the Monica Lewinsky
investigation in no small measure because of his uncanny ability to connect with
ordinary citizens.

But, as his political advisers have been warning for months, that is a double-edged
sword: If you want to be of the people, you cannot place yourself above the people.

So when Clinton's legal team asserts that the president holds a special position that
places him above certain laws, such as those covering subpoenas, it not only sets the
stage for a constitutional showdown with unpleasant reminders of Richard Nixon and
Watergate, but it undercuts Clinton's image.

While Clinton's lawyers are prepared to fight a subpoena from Starr all the way to the
Supreme Court, they would rather negotiate a compromise that would allow Clinton to
voluntarily provide information to the grand jury.

At the same time, Clinton's political team has formulated his last-ditch defense: If the
Lewinsky case is just about sex, then it is not a high crime or misdemeanor, either of
which could require Clinton's removal from office.

That defense, which has been made privately to reporters by Clinton aides for weeks,
was publicly stated by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., on CNN Sunday. Frank sits on the
House Judiciary Committee, which will eventually receive Starr's final report on Clinton
and which may have to decide whether to impeach him.

Yet Frank said Sunday, "We are not talking about in my judgment a terribly serious
allegation as to whether or not he had sex with a consenting adult and that is really at
the heart of the only really remaining question."

And though the issue may not be sex, but perjury, Clinton's advisers are convinced that
as long as the case stays about sex and not obstruction of justice or about urging
Lewinsky to lie, Clinton's popularity with the American people will give Congress little
stomach to impeach him.

Yet the unique nature of the presidency can hurt Clinton as well has help him: While a
private citizen could invoke a Fifth Amendment privilege not to answer questions before
a grand jury, this could be political suicide for Clinton.

Which means he is not really a private citizen and not really in a special place above
the law, but somewhere in between -- a very lonely place in between.

Legal opinion is sharply divided over whether a president can be subpoenaed, in part
because the court seems to have no remedy if Clinton refuses. Normally, if a person
refuses to respond to a subpoena, he could be found in contempt and jailed.

But many Constitutional scholars believe that a president cannot be jailed without first
being impeached.

Starr believes that such a subpoena would be enforceable and he has issued one,
though he could later withdraw it if he can work out a compromise with Clinton.

While it has been Clinton's policy to continue to be seen "doing the people's business"
and not letting the case effect him, the Starr investigation has been going on for nearly
four years and is having a considerable negative impact on Clinton's battle-fatigued
aides, with a number, such as press secretary Mike McCurry, planning to leave.

"The only thing I am convinced of is that this will never end," a top presidential aide said
Friday with weary sarcasm. "Starr is going to go on forever and
ever." B>

7/23/98: Can frequent-flyer miles alone earn Bubba a Nobel Prize?7/21/98: San Francisco: not only 'gay,' but happy7/17/98: Why Bubba claims Y2K is US' biggest problem7/14/98: Close Amtrak --- PLEASE!7/9/98: Flag burning is for nuts!7/7/98: Forget about his legal defense fund, buy Bubba shirts! 7/1/98: Wall-nuts6/26/98: Perks and the press6/23/98: There's a good reason Bubba wants gun-control...6/19/98: Why Clinton can get away with going to Tiananmen Square6/16/98: Maybe Big Brother ain't so bad after all
6/11/98: He claimed responsibility for Rwanda, so why isn't Bubba stopping Serbian genocide?6/9/98: The Internet president? 6/4/98: You can call me ‘slick;' and you can call me ‘sick;' but never call me ‘Dick' .... as in Nixon, that is6/2/98: Being a 'talkin'-head' is hard work5/29/98 Pay the pol, pick the policy 5/27/98
A 'loo' in London
5/21/98Buba is back from Europe ... but what did he accomplish? 5/18/98Roses for Buba5/12/98: Just who is "Mr. Republican" these days?"5/7/98:"Why Clinton keeeps "going and going and going""5/1/98:"Bubba v. Tabacka"4/29/98:"You may ask, but should they tell?"4/24/98:"McCurry and the kids from the ‘hood "4/23/98: "NOW" should change its name to "THEN"4/20/98: Freedom to be a jerk?
4/14/98: Bill is Hef's kinda guy
4/7/98: South African memories --- and a paradise not yet found
3/24/98: Bill's 12-day safari3/20/98: Peace for Ireland?3/18/98: Flat tire? Spare me3/13/98: Latrell Sprewell's genius3/10/98: On truth and reality3/5/98: No, I'm not harrassing Hillary3/3/98: The Unforgettable Henny Youngman2/26/98: Grow up, boys!2/24/98: Go get 'em, Bill!2/19/98: My 15 minutes2/17/98: The manic-depressive presidency2/12/98: Drip, Drip, Drip2/10/98: Clinton tunes out the networks2/5/98: The flight of the Beast: America's love-hate relationship with scandal2/3/98: Speaking Clintonese1/29/98: What the president has going for him1/27/98: Judgment call: how Americans view President Clinton1/22/98: Bimbo eruptions past and present1/20/98: Feeding the beast: Paula Jones gets the full O.J.1/15/98: Let's get it over with: it's time to deal with Saddam, already1/13/98: Sonny Bono is dead, let the good times roll1/8/98: Carribbean Cheesecake: First couple has cake, eats cake1/6/98: PO'ed: a suspected druggie jumps through the employment hoops1/1/98: Cures for that holiday hangover12/30/97: Buy stuff now12/25/97: Peace to all squirrelkind12/23/97: Home for the Holidays: Where John Hinckley, never convicted, will not be12/18/97: Bill's B-list Bacchanalia: Press and politicos get cozy, to a point
12/16/97: All dressed up... (White House flack Mike McCurry speculates on his next career)